Chapter 10
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Later in the day, after the nurse released Victoria, and after Jane had gone off to attend whatever classes were left in her schedule, Ryder found himself once more in the dumpster alley.

Though the dumpsters had long remained empty, the smell of old garbage still lingered somewhat. Ryder wrinkled his nose. He didn't like this alley, but it was one of the few places he could go without someone trying to talk to him. Without someone trying desperately to win his approval, or sell him something, or pretend to be his friend.

No Beatrice either, he thought with relief.

He patted his jacket pockets, searching for his cell-phone. It was a cracked, heavy brick of a phone. Even with all the money his family possessed, he still felt the need to hang on to it.

Call it misplaced sentimentality or being too frugal, but he held very little desire for every shiny new thing. Don't replace it if it isn't broken.

A few finger-taps and a swipe and his father's personal contact number appeared on the screen. His stern face stared back at Ryder, a thin crack bisecting it in a dramatic fashion.

Ryder smoothed his hair back, mentally preparing himself. The dial tone was a low drone as their call connected.

Only thirty seconds of waiting, Ryder noted. His father must have a light schedule today. Or his secretary had left a time-slot for him. Generous.

"Ryder," his father said, more of a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah," Ryder replied. "It's done. She said yes."

The wind picked up, wafting the stench of garbage towards Ryder. He could see Beatrice's spent cigarette on the floor from the day before.

There was silence. He checked his phone to make sure the call hadn't been dropped. His father hadn't said anything.

"Was there anything else?" Jackson senior asked. Ryder could almost see him glancing at his watch.

"This doesn't feel right, dad. She's just some girl," Ryder said.

More silence on the other end of the call.

"I didn't raise you to feel, Ryder." His father said. "I raised you to do."

His voice held a hard edge that, once upon a time, would have warned of an impending beating. Even now, almost a man, Ryder could feel himself cringing away. Just like he had as a young boy.

A beep marked the abrupt end of the call. Ryder stood there, surrounded by dumpsters and cigarette butts, and fought the urge to hit something. He placed the cracked phone back in his pocket, sighing the frustration away.

The emergency door opened with a creak as Ryder returned to school, heart heavy with guilt. Jane Mackenzie had no idea what she had stumbled upon.

The nurse had assured them that nothing was permanently damaged with Victoria, but cautioned her against pushing it too far, in case it grew worse

The nurse had assured them that nothing was permanently damaged with Victoria, but cautioned her against pushing it too far, in case it grew worse.

Victoria acted unbothered by the injury. Her usual chipper self remained entirely unabated, and she talked energetically with Jane for most of their lunch break.

"You're not eating again," Victoria commented, glancing at Jane's mostly untouched lunch tray.

Jane pushed the prepackaged fruit cup towards Victoria. "You can have it, I'm not hungry."

The cafeteria was far more busy than the last time Jane had been here. She rubbed the back of her neck at the memory. For a moment, she was lying face-down on one of the tables again, Beatrice's nicotine-stench filling her nose. She blinked the sudden vision away.

At least Beatrice's group was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you still thinking about this morning?" Victoria asked.

Jane looked at her incredulously. "Of course. We could've been hurt, or worse!"

Victoria sobered up slightly at that. The bangles on her arms clicked as she rotated the fruit cup in her hands, feeling the smooth texture with her fingers.

"Yeah... but good thing Ryder stepped in," she said. "He's tough, huh?"

Jane blinked. That's the second time she had heard that today.

Victoria peeled the plastic covering of the cup, and speared a cherry with her fork.

"So, feel like telling me yet?" Victoria asked, chewing the cherry.

Jane realized it had completely slipped her mind. She had been too busy thinking about Ryder. And his proposal.

Was she free tomorrow night? What kind of question was that? That hardly sounded like an ambush waiting to happen. What exactly did he have in mind? Was she wrong to have accepted?

Jane swallowed, and clenched her hands together in her lap. Victoria was right. She had been putting this off long enough. She had to tell her.

Please don't hate me. Please.

"I'm- it was my fault. The skeevy guy was after me," Jane said, finding her tongue.

She could see Victoria about to pipe up impulsively, filled with questions. Jane held her hand up, trying to find the right words once more.

"You said it before, I'm a code whiz. I have been since my dad taught me. And..." Jane paused a moment. "And so I've been breaking into networks across town, and I think I discovered something. Something I shouldn't have."

Fruit cup forgotten, Victoria focused entirely on Jane. Her eyes positively burned with curiosity. "Code whiz? Wait, what do you mean breaking in? Like, a hacker?"

Jane nodded, her eyes dropping to the sludge that was meant to be meatloaf on her tray. Victoria was looking at her in a most fascinated way.

"Wow. So that's why you never sleep," she said.

Jane glanced up at Victoria, who seemed half way between thinking this was all a joke and drowning her in an ocean of questions. Here it comes, she thought.

Jane clenched her jaw. Just like before. The reason she had to move to Alexander Township. Why she had to leave her home, with all of its memories.

"Did you hack me too?" Victoria asked. She sounded nonchalant. As if her privacy hardly mattered to her.

"No! No. I didn't," Jane reassured her as quickly as she could.

It was true. While Victoria's passwords had appeared on the key-logger along with all the others, Jane hadn't felt the need to look into her. She trusted her.

"As long as you didn't see my search history," Victoria joked. She was trying to lighten the mood. Jane was grateful for that.

"I'm not mad at you, you know," she continued, more gently.

Jane looked up again, daring to feel relieved. She had only realized how important her relationship with Victoria was, and how badly she didn't want to screw it up. It was rare to find a friend that would stick with you like that.

A bell rang far overhead, a shrill, metallic ringing that could be heard over the din of students. There was a rush of chairs squeaking against the tiles as the students hurriedly finished their lunches and returned to the classrooms.

Jane stood with them, gathering up her utensils. To her surprise, Victoria reached out and gripped her wrist.

"Wanna skip?" she asked, looking up at Jane from her seat.

Jane nodded. She very much wanted to skip classes. She very much wanted a break to think.

The football field was, obviously, where most of Alexander State High's decorating budget had gone. It was a massive expanse of trimmed grass, the blades still dewy from the cold morning air. Painted white lines split the field up into halves, and marked the boundary of the game. Beyond the white lines stood a veritable rampart of bleachers, tiers of white benches interspersed with towering floodlights, meant to be used at night. At the moment, they lay dormant, and the field itself was devoid of players. It was just the two of them.

The skies held an emptiness that could only occur after a storm had passed. It was blue in a sweeping, infinite way. There was not a single cloud to be seen. A perfect canvas of nothing.

Despite the lack of clouds, the signature chilly wind of Alexander township gusted through the bleachers.

Victoria and Jane sat beneath one, their backs resting against the seat. A plane buzzed far overhead, breaking the silence.

Victoria was fumbling in her pocket for something. Jane glanced at it curiously.

"Aha!" Victoria exclaimed, producing a cylinder of paper with a twist at the end.

Jane's mouth fell open. "Vicky, is that-"

Victoria shushed her, another hand pulling a lighter from her jeans. She lit the cylinder in a reflexive, practiced way. This obviously wasn't her first blunt.

Jane said nothing for a bit, staring at her friend in curiosity. She'd seen plenty of things like this online, but had never actually encountered it in real life. It smelled funny. Like gym socks.

She glanced at Jane, as if surprised to find her there. "Want some?"

Jane almost found herself refusing, but something stopped her. The voice in her head.

What the hell, why not?

Gingerly, she reached out and plucked the tube from Victoria's fingers. It was tightly wound, and she could make out fuzzy-looking nuggets underneath the wax paper.

She brought it to her mouth and inhaled. The smoke filled her lungs, and she began coughing.

Victoria laughed, and began gently patting her on the shoulder. Jane's eyes watered as she coughed. How did people enjoy this sort of thing?

"What did you find?" she asked.

"I think..." Jane hesitated. She didn't want to put a voice to it, to her worries. But it needed to be said.

"I think I found a group of criminals. Here. In Alexander," she said.

It was like giving blood. She knew it was the right thing to do, but the very act itself terrified her. Someone else needed to know. Someone else had to share the burden of these secrets.

"And I met them. I wasn't really sick, yesterday. They'd caught me. I think Beatrice Ruth and Ryder are the ringleaders. I think, they know that I know. And there's this person, they keep texting me cryptic stuff. And now that guy that came after us this morning. I think.. I think-" she cut herself off. She'd been caught in the moment, and had vomited every terrified, frantic thought she'd had on to poor Victoria.

Much to her friends credit, she seemed to keep up.

"Hey, it's okay," she said, scooting closer to Jane.

Jane's fingertips felt strange. She realized she had been inhaling from the blunt nervously for several minutes.

Victoria put her arm around Jane, watching the sky once more.

"Ryder's in on it? But then why'd he stop that guy today?" Victoria asked. She didn't sound like she doubted Jane, or that she was humoring her. She really believed her. Jane felt another rush of gratitude towards her friend. Or perhaps that was the weed.

The truth was, Jane didn't know. She had been stumbling blind, going entirely off her own assumptions and vague bits of information. Whoever this group was, and whatever they were doing, Jane had very little evidence of it. They were careful. Methodical. Nearly invisible.

"I could be wrong about him," Jane admitted, quietly. "But he wants me to meet him. Ryder. Tomorrow."

Now Victoria looked surprised. And a little sly. The same smile from the bus returned to her face.

"Oooh, someone's going on a date," she teased, stretching out the 'oh'.

Jane poked her between the ribs. "Idiot."

The giggles broke forth at last, tumbling from her mouth with abandon. Victoria was laughing along with her. The sounds of their laughter echoed beneath the bleachers.

They sat there, dappled by the sun, for much of the afternoon. The conversation flitted between many topics, from how Ryder always wore the same jacket, to the basics of network penetration, and to more serious topics like Victoria's panic attacks.

Jane realized this was what she had needed. Not long nights staring at a screen, or clumsy runs in the rain. Just a friend. Someone who accepted her for who she was.

Maybe if she'd had it sooner, she never would have gotten into this mess.

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